The Planes of Existence
Nevandaar is surrounded by a selection of strange planes, both Inner and Outer. It uses the same cosmology model that 5e does, however until a replacement is made, assume none of the Outer Planes present in 5e exist here. The inner planes are almost the exact same with the 4 elemental planes being held within the Elemental Sovereign (the Elemental Chaos). All are connected by the Astral, and the Inner Planes, the Prime Material (and it's echos) are all held within the Ethereal Plane. The Material Plane and its Echoes The Material Plane: The Material Plane is the nexus where the philosophical and elemental forces that define the other planes collide in the jumbled existence of mortal life and mundane matter. Nevandaar exists within the Material Plane. The Feywild: As the Feywild is an ‘echo’ of the material plane, the geography is similar, though not entirely identical, to the geography of the Material Plane. Similarly, just as the geography is reminiscent of Nevandaar's, its inhabitants and many creatures existed as fey "echoes" of the creatures and beings in the Material Plane. Arcane and primordial magic runs more freely and with greater potency in the Feywild than it does in the Material Plane. Scholars of the College of Sargoth claim this is why so many Fey, or races with ancestry linking to the Feywild, are magically gifted. The Feywild is also reputably beautiful in comparison with either the Material Plane, or its other echo, the Exanimate Plane. The Exanimate Plane The Exanimate Plane is another echo of the material plane, similar to the Feywild. Unlike the Feywild however, which is known for its breath-taking beauty, and its trickster inhabitants, the Exanimate plane is a world of death, decay, and corruption. As an echo of the material plane, its layout and geography is similar. The Exanimate plane is the source of all necrotic energies and powers. It is ruled by the ‘Deadgod’ and oftentimes breaks into the Material Plane with overlapping portals. Any corpse that is raised as undead has its soul ripped from whatever afterlife it inhabits and is deposited in the Exanimate plane. Here the soul is tortured and forced to experience the visions and senses of its decaying form, turning slowly to madness as they witness all the evil the undead commits with their slowly flaying body. If the undead form that they are connected to is destroyed, the soul is sent back to whatever afterlife it inhabited when it was pulled into the Exanimate Plane. This is why the act of raising the dead (but not necessarily Necromancy, as resurrection is also a part of that school) is a blatant evil act in Nevandaar, as you are forcing the soul to live through what equates to a momentary hell. The Transitive Planes The Ethereal Plane The Ethereal Plane is what connects the Material Plane, where all elements are found, to the Elemental Planes, which serve as the sources of those elements. While in the Ethereal, you can perceive the Material Plane if you're close enough to it, in a region known as the Border Ethereal. Think of the various planes of matter and energy as a sphere, with the Prime Material as the globes surface and the different Elemental Planes bobbing about inside it. A mirror image of the Material serves as the Feywild, and the shadow the Material Plane makes is the Exanimate Plane. In essence, the Ethereal Plane is the adhesive that holds all the Inner Planes together. This is also why the Ethereal Plane cannot be accessed from the Outer Planes. The Astral Plane The Astral Plane is a timeless void. Everything in existence (except the Inner Planes) is accessible from the Astral Plane. Unlike the Ethereal Plane, travel in the Astral Plane is tied directly to thought, and it is believed that intelligent creatures travel to portions of the Astral Plane as they sleep. Near the outer areas of the Astral Plane – itself a near impossible concept due to its infinite size – are the realms of the abstract where the gods live and souls travel upon death, the Outer Planes. The Terrene Plane The Terrene plane is a transitive plane in the loosest sense of the world. In Nevandaar there is no Weave. Magic is instead pulled from an entirely different plane of existence that borders all of the inner and outer planes, and is itself held together by the positive and negative energy planes. The Terrene plane itself is a wild and furious gale of pure magical essence. It was created by Arcanus during the Age of Creation. When a portal to the Terrene plane is opened, either through incantation, ritual, simple spellcasting or force of will, the magic presents itself in different ways. The Terrene plane is accessed by spellcasters in a multitude of ways. Wizards learn how to open portals to the Terrene plane, allowing gouts of magic energies to create the spells with which they study. Sorcerers have an innate connection to the Terrene Plane, and as such can will open small wormholes where their magic escapes from. Etc. Beings with innate magic, such as Elves or Firbolg, have ties to the Terrene Plane by default. Very rarely a being can be born with no connection to the Terrene plane, this is known as a Dissentient. The Inner Planes The Inner Planes surround and enfold the Material Plane and its echoes, providing the raw elemental substance from which all the worlds were made. The four Elemental Planes — Air, Earth, Fire, and Water — form a ring around the Material Plane, suspended within the churning Primordial Sovereign. At their innermost edges, where they are closest to the Material Plane (in a conceptual if not a literal geographical sense), the four Elemental Planes resemble a world in the Material Plane. The four elements mingle together as they do in the Material Plane, forming land, sea, and sky. Farther from the Material Plane, though, the Elemental Planes are both alien and hostile. Here, the elements exist in their purest form — great expanses of solid earth, blazing fire, crystal – clear water, and unsullied air. These regions are little known, so when discussing the Plane of Fire, for example, a speaker usually means just the border region. At the farthest extents of the Inner Planes, the pure elements dissolve and bleed together into an unending tumult of clashing energies and colliding substance, the Primordial Sovereign. The Outer Planes If the Inner Planes are the raw matter and energy that makes up the multiverse, the Outer Planes are the direction, thought and purpose for such construction. Accordingly, many sages refer to the Outer Planes as divine planes, spiritual planes, or godly planes, for the Outer Planes are best known as the homes of deities such as Lucifosh, and Soar. When discussing anything to do with deities, the language used must be highly metaphorical. Their actual homes are not literally “places” at all, but exemplify the idea that the Outer Planes are realms of thought and spirit. As with the Elemental Planes, one can imagine the perceptible part of the Outer Planes as a sort of border region, while extensive spiritual regions lie beyond ordinary sensory experience. Even in those perceptible regions, appearances can be deceptive. Initially, many of the Outer Planes appear hospitable and familiar to natives of the Material Plane. But the landscape can change at the whims of the powerful forces that live on the Outer Planes. The desires of the mighty forces that dwell on these planes can remake them completely, effectively erasing and rebuilding existence itself to better fulfil their own needs. Distance is a virtually meaningless concept on the Outer Planes. The perceptible regions of the planes often seem quite small, but they can also stretch on to what seems like infinity. It might be possible to take a guided tour of the Seven Hells, from the first layer to the seventh, in a single day—if the powers of the Hells desire it. Or it could take weeks for travellers to make a gruelling trek across a single layer. Some of the Outer Planes Include: (all of these will eventually have links like the seven hells, enjoy the cliffnotes for now) = The Underscape = The Underscape – or the Soul Skein to some – is an outer plane of existence. Here souls are taken once they have died in the Inner or Outer Planes. The Underscape acts as the judge of someone’s life, determining once and for all if they are sent to a heaven befitting them, or the Seven Hells. The plane itself is an endless maze: a complex system of twisted passageways that newly deceased souls must navigate before reaching their afterlife. In doing so, the Narrow Maze sorts souls based on their intelligence and ability. Some souls exit into points of light where they are taken to a heaven designed specifically for them, while others exit into dark pits which drag the souls into the Seven Hells. If a soul for whatever reason dies inside the Underscape, perhaps they attempt to escape and are caught by the Underscape’s guardians, they are thrown to the Herebetween. The time it takes for someone to travel through the maze correlates with the deeds they had done in their lifetime. If someone is blatantly evil, with no good actions under their belt, their trek through the maze might take mere minutes. More complex characters, those that have dealt with the bad and the good of the world, can take entire weeks. This is because it takes a longer time to judge those characters. The maze itself is watched over by an overwhelming number of guardians. They hover above each soul as they traverse the maze, and usher them toward the exit they think suitable. Sometimes through whips composed of plasma, and power. The guardians tend to be less violent to souls that are good and pure, and more toward those that are evil or violent. = Mount Joerlak = Mount Joerlak – or The Confessional – is an outer plane of existence. It is an endless feast hall, confined within marble pillars and slate walls. The tables are always stacked with as much food as they can handle from every plane of existance, and small invisible servants are ever present to take specific orders of beings that have entered Mount Joerlak. Mount Joerlak is unique in that no violence, or act of malice, can become of anyone within the plane. Weapons simply cease to exist, violent magics do not function, and charming effects or malicious acts immediately fail. It is well known as a political ground for the gods to squabble. As no violence can come of people within the marble walls, it is the perfect place for treaties to be signed, negotiations to begin, or for people to seek asylum. However, the Mountain with which this endless, lavish banquets lies upon is a sentient force. It will expel those who stay within its walls for personal gain or for refuge into the Astral Sea (or back to the plane they accessed Mount Joerlak from). The Seven Hells The Eternal Citadel (where Celestials Come from) The Cold Dark (a plane of pure ice) The Endless Lodge (kind of like Valhalla) The Herebetween (Limbo) (MORE TO FOLLOW)